Social Media 101

26 Jul Social Media 101

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram … the world of social media can feel overwhelming. Even if you regularly use these platforms in your personal life, you might find it difficult to figure out how to present your business in the world of social media. Luckily, it’s simpler than it seems at first glance.

Facebook is a huge social media platform, and creating a Facebook page for your business is a good first step into the world of social media. Your page can start off simple – just your logo, hours of operation, and a link to your website will be enough to start driving customers your way. If you have more time, a Facebook page is a great place to share content (photos of your work, links to blog posts, etc.) and interact with your customers in a casual way by encouraging comments and conversation. Having a Facebook page is free, but if you’d like to step it up, even more, you can also pay to advertise on the site or “boost” your posts so that they’re seen by more people.

Twitter is a simple “microblogging” platform. You’re limited to only 140 characters in each tweet, so you need to keep your messages here short. If you’re active on Twitter, you might find customers reaching out to you with questions or complaints. Remember that your tweets are public, so even though you might be replying to a single customer, your response can make a difference to how you’re viewed by hundreds or thousands of people. Keep your tweets interesting and concise, and don’t forget to add links and hashtags!

Instagram is a photo-heavy platform. The focus of your Instagram posts should be their visual appeal. Captions are important but definitely secondary on this platform, so if you create a beautiful product and want to show it off, Instagram is an excellent way to go. Hashtags are also really important on Instagram, so you’ll want to take a look at which are popular in your industry so that you can grow your follower base.

Pinterest allows users to “pin” posts and save them for later. It’s especially popular for weddings, recipes, home décor, and fashion, so if you’re a retailer, you might want to have your products on Pinterest where people can find them and save them to their boards, which often serve as wish lists.
There are quite a few other social media platforms, but these are four of the biggest. If you’re just starting out, choose one (Facebook is probably the best choice) and start exploring all of the different options. You’ll find social media easy to get a grasp on, and a great, low-cost way of getting more people to know about your business.